Capital goods sector scheme with budgetary support of Rs. 300 Crore will provide sector specific industrial parks: Mr Santosh Mohan Dev
New Delhi : The Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises announced the capital goods sector scheme which has been included in the 11th Five Year Plan with a budgetary support of Rs. 300 Crore. This will contribute to five key areas namely machine tools, textile machinery including jute, heavy electrical equipments, mining and construction equipments and process plant equipments.
The scheme will provide sector specific industrial parks with common facility and R&D inputs, said Mr. Sontosh Mohan Dev, Minister, Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises.
He was speaking at the National Seminar on Emerging & Existing Opportunities for the Capital Goods Industry organised jointly by the Ministry of Heavy Industry and Public Enterprises, Government of India and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). The topic of seminar assumes importance as the capital goods industry is associated with growth in connected sectors like automobile, power, railways, defence, infrastructure and consumer goods. The session marked the release of a brochure which highlights achievements of the ministry.
The minister outlined huge annual production of capital goods sector amounting to Rs. 100,000 crore in 2007-08 and tax contribution of about Rs. 20,000 crore. Ironically the sector received inadequate investments and in addition to low R&D endeavours which are essential for fuelling growth of this sector, he added.
Sharing progressive involvement amongst PSEs, Dr. S N Dash, Secretary, Department of Heavy Industry, said, a Public - Public Partnership agreement has been put into place between Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd; Bharat Heavy Plates and Vessels; Instrumentation Ltd (Kota); and Heavy Engineering Corporation (Ranchi). As per this agreement the four PSEs will be revitalized to attain competitive position in the industry.
Mr Dash highlighted that the growth rate in capital goods industry has come down to 7.7% from a whopping 20.4% growth figures recorded last year. He said, this is a critical period for the industry and we should come together to find ways and means to get over the crisis. Besides capital goods, Mining has come down to 3% as against 5.2% and Manufacturing has recorded growth of 3.3% as against 9.6% last year.
The Guest of Honour, Mr. Anwarul Hoda, Member, Planning Commission, listed down some of the key policy initiative being considered by the planning commission. He expressed displeasure about WTO laws which act as a barrier for India to come up with a strong capital goods industry. He signalled strong moves made by the Government towards lowering import duty on capital goods.
On global financial crisis and its influence on capital goods industry, Mr. Hoda said, we should treat this as a temporary phase. We should remain hopeful that the industry will improve and infrastructural spending will resume. We should remain positive about the prospects of the industry as India is fortunate enough to have a diverse capital goods industry. He advocated for a low taxation regime; filling up the skills deficit in India and lowering government interaction in trade.
Earlier in his welcome remarks, Mr. J P Nayak, Chairman, CII National Committee on Capital Goods & Engineering and President (Operations) & Member of the L & T Board, stated that the industry must concentrate on new areas which spells constructive opportunities for economy. Besides focussing on infrastructure and railways, the industry must come up with ambitious targets in sunrise sectors like Nuclear, Defence, Space and Aerospace.
Source : machinist.in